While offering no new details about the timing of the launch of its ultra high speed fiber in the Dallas area -- still expected this summer -- AT&T Inc. said Monday that it plans to begin talks with officials in about 20 new major metro areas about bringing the service to their communities.

Those areas include Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. AT&T already offers the service, called U-verse with GigaPower, in some areas of Austin.

Nationally, about 100 communities in those metro areas are now potential candidates, AT&T said. That includes Farmer’s Branch, Frisco, Grand Prairie, Highland Park, Irving, Mesquite, Plano, Richardson, University Park, Arlington, Euless, and Haltom City,as well as Dallas and Fort Worth.

In a release, Dallas-based AT&T said it will work with local officials to discuss ways to accelerate deployment and expand availability of fiber broadband in their communities.

"The communities with suitable infrastructure and that show the strongest investment cases, based on anticipated demand and the most receptive policies, will influence these future selections and coverage maps within selected areas," AT&T said.

The company said it is already in advanced talks with officials in several North Carolina communities. The fiber service offers broadband speeds up to one Gigabit per second.